Synthesis and structural refinement of LiAlxCo1−xO2 system

The LiAlxCo1−xO2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7) samples were synthesized by sol–gel technique using acrylic acid as chelating agent. Rietveld refinement of high-resolution X-ray diffraction data showed that like the parent material LiCoO2, all Al doped samples have layered α-NaFeO2 structure (space group R3¯m). The Al substitution was found to introduce structural distortion around the Co atoms, which is due to change in oxygen coordination around the Co atoms and is much higher compared to that of LiCoO2 system.